Nintendo Switch finally gets the eShop update fans waited years for

The Nintendo Switch eShop has been the console’s least charming loading screen for almost a decade. Players loved the hardware, built huge libraries, chased sales, and carried the system everywhere, but buying a game from Nintendo’s own store often felt slower than it had any right to be.

Nintendo has finally touched the part of the Switch that needed attention most. Version 22.5.0 is now live, and the original Nintendo Switch has received a redesigned eShop layout, dark theme support for the store, new PIN options, and better video controls.

The redesigned eShop layout is the update people will notice first. Nintendo’s patch notes do not describe every visual change, but the store now has a refreshed layout instead of the old interface players have been complaining about since 2017.

For years, system updates mostly meant stability improvements and small background changes. This one changes a place players actually use whenever they buy a game, check discounts, watch trailers, or browse upcoming releases.

The timing is funny, too. Switch 2 is already here, but the original Switch is still sitting in millions of homes with massive digital libraries attached to it. Cleaning up the eShop now is late, but it is not useless.

The update also lets the eShop match the Basic Dark system theme. Switch owners still do not have the full theme system many wanted, but at least the store no longer has to blast players with a bright screen when the rest of the console is set to dark.

It is a small change, but small changes are exactly why this update stands out. The Switch has always had a strangely limited home menu, with only Basic White and Basic Dark available for years. Nintendo never turned themes into the personality feature fans imagined, so seeing even the eShop follow the dark setting feels oddly overdue.

This does not suddenly give players wallpapers, music, game-specific layouts, or anything close to the 3DS theme shop. It simply makes the store feel less disconnected from the system around it.

Version 22.5.0 also adds User-Verification PIN support for accessing the eShop and using saved payment methods. That is not the headline feature, but it may be the most practical one for families.

One system might move between kids, parents, siblings, and friends in the same house, especially now that many families have years of games tied to a single device.

Adding another check around store access and saved payments gives owners more control without turning the whole system into a chore. It is the kind of boring security feature that becomes important the first time someone else picks up the console.

Nintendo also added a simple fix for full-screen videos in News and the eShop. Players can now use ZL and ZR to rewind or advance by 10 seconds.

That may sound tiny, but it helps one of the store’s everyday annoyances. Trailers, update videos, and game clips are part of how players browse the eShop, and skipping back or forward should have been there long ago.

It does not transform the Switch home screen, add folders people still want improved, or bring the full theme support fans have asked about for years. It does make the eShop feel less frozen in time, and for a console that launched in 2017, that is a bigger relief than it should be.